The controversies of Alessandra Mussolini

Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of the Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, has been known for her controversial remarks in the past.

Miss Mussolini, a right-wing politician and former actress and model, resigned from the Italian political party National Alliance in 2003 following a visit of the party leader to Israel where he denounced fascism as "the absolute evil" and apologised for Italy's role during the Second World War.

She did, however, defend the right of Israel to exist and declared that the world "should beg forgiveness of Israel".

In March 2005, Miss Mussolini was banned by a local court from regional elections held the following month for presenting fraudulent signatures. She went on hunger strike to protest the decision and blamed her former party, the right-wing National Alliance, for engineering the forgery scandal.

She sparked outrage in 2006 when she responded to claims by the transgender Italian M.P. candidate Vladimir Luxuria that she was a 'fascist' with the line: Meglio fascista che frocio ("It is better to be a fascist than a faggot")....